Ili Valley in Xinjiang is a "wet island" in the arid zone of Eurasia, with fertile land, abundant water, vast grassland and rich products, and enjoys the reputation of "Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall", "Hometown of Apples" and "Hometown of Gastrodia elata". Yining City, located in the middle of Ili Valley, is the capital of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture and the political, economic, cultural and transportation center of Ili Valley. The city covers a total area of 675.5 square kilometers and governs 8 townships, 1 town, 1 venue and 8 sub-district offices. By the end of 2005, the total population of the jurisdiction was 430,000, including 35 ethnic groups such as Uygur, Han, Kazak, Hui, Mongolia, Xibo, Uzbek and Russia, among which Uygur accounted for 49.24%, Han accounted for 35./kloc-0.3%, Hui accounted for 7.57% and Kazak accounted for 4.49%. ?